Because they are useful in various ways, compositions having stringiness are being studied in a variety of fields, including not only cosmetics and quasi-drugs, but also foods and resins. Stringiness refers to the quality that a highly viscous liquid has of forming a string when allowed to drip down or when a rod is inserted into the liquid and then quickly drawn up out of the liquid. In order for this quality to be employed in various applications, a composition is required to have a stringiness and viscidity that are suitable for the intended purpose.
One application for stringy compositions is hair cosmetics, especially cosmetics for eyelashes. Eyelash cosmetics are used because they make the eyelashes look long and beautiful, and thus have the effect of highlighting the eyes. To address this aim, there exists art which imparts a long-lash effect and a volume-adding effect by formulating a stringy composition. Specifically, there exists art which, by including both a lysine derivative-modified silicone and a silicone-modified polysaccharide compound, imparts stringiness and extends the length of the eyelashes (see, for example, Patent Document 1: JP-A 2007-314655). At the same time, art has been disclosed wherein both fibers and an adhesive film-forming agent are included in an eyelash cosmetic which, by applying fibers to the eyelashes, adds volume to the eyelashes (see, for example, Patent Document 2: JP-A 2004-517092). There is also art on oil-based gelling agents composed of a siliconized polysaccharide and a polyether-modified silicone (see, for example, Patent Document 3: JP-A 2008-105994).
However, although eyelash cosmetics which include fibers have a good long-lash effect, applying too much fiber to the eyelashes results in an unnatural finish. Also, even though waxes such as beeswax are included in eyelash cosmetics so as to impart adherence and volume, sufficient viscosity is not obtained with an oil-based gelling agent composed of a silicone-modified polysaccharide compound and a polyether-modified silicone, making it inadequate as a gelling agent for eyelash cosmetics.